i’m just really happy this is over.

• the story of psyche & eros, but eros is a gender fluid goddess, so make it sapphic
• this book had so much potential with its plot, but ultimately lost me very quickly
• minimal character development
• overly dense, purple, flowery prose that didn’t even say anything? like there is basically zero plot, and none of psyche’s internal monologue does anything for the plot or her characterization

I am not familiar with Greek mythology retellings. It is a genre I am wary and unfamiliar with, but The Palace of Eros exceeded my expectations.
The story is lush and expertly written while maintaining the author's own direction and substance, making it their own.
I will recommend this book to friends who love Greek myth, because compared to a different overhyped Greek retelling, I prefer this one.

A truly wonderful piece of literature that I wholeheartedly endorse to become part of the canon of queer fiction.
Historical/mythological fiction is a favourite genre of mine, but De Robertis' work transcends that single genre and gives a voice to an egregiously underrepresented and marginalized population in a fashion that I can only describe as eloquent and divine. The characters of Eros and Psyche are painfully relatable and the overall messaging of this work is incredibly important.
The plot, while not overly thrilling or engaging, works to keep the theme and moral of the story at the forefront, which I can appreciate, since I believe it to be a message of paramount importance.
A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

DNF after about 15%. In the first few chapters, we are introduced to Pysche, who to her family's surprise, becomes the most desirable of three sisters to suitors. The suitors descend on Psyche's home and generally become a nuisance and cause chaos. The specific reason I did not finish this book is actually related to this situation - there is a mention that the suitors begin to sexually assault servants at Psyche's home as they grow bored. While this situation is only mentioned for a few sentences (at least that I read), sexual assault always makes me put down a book immediately, especially as there were no trigger warnings at the start of this book.

On a positive side, I do love the concept of queer retellings of Greek myths (and of history in general), so I do believe this story would be intriguing and is why I requested it. I'm unable to speak on how well the retelling is as I did not get far enough into it for that, but the concept is good. Even in the first few chapters I read, I was already interested in where Psyche's story would go.

In terms of the writing in the part I read, I felt that it was hard to get into and felt clunky. Everything was taking me double the time to read than it usually would. Perhaps this book would read a lot smoother to someone who is more familiar with Greek myths!

The Palace of Eros really has ruined me for sapphic Greek mythology retellings forever.
What a breathtaking story of WANTING and LONGING and DESIRE…of how women are not even told they can want and desire…wow. I highlighted so much of this book. I was captivated by the exquisite gender-expansiveness, the yearning, the intensely poetic writing. The queer joy, queer desire, queer pleasure…the queer ancestors’ light and excitement in all those who come after them…freedom and choice away from the control and gaze of men…WOW.

I really enjoyed this portrayal of Psyche and Eros. It was interesting to get some insight into their inner thoughts. However I did feel that the ending was somewhat rushed and that a good portion of the conflict resolved itself off page.